Rain, Rain, Go Away
by Andrix
Summary: Trapped in an abandoned barn due to a storm, neither Kurogane or Fay knew that the events of that night would make their relationship change so much. NOT A SMUTTY ONE-SHOT. Probably not going to update any time soon.
1. I'm Not Afraid

_ Author's Notice: I don't own any of this. I wish I did, but sadly, the Tsubasa Chronicle story and characters are all copyright the geniuses that are the CLAMP team. The only thing that I own is the plot idea for this particular bit of crap fan fiction. The various lyrics used throughout are copyright their original owners. __**Manjuu**__is a steamed bun filled with sweet red bean paste. Kurogane calls Mokona this. __**Wan-wan**__is a Japanese onomatopoeia for a barking dog, and __**wanko**__ means puppy._

_- Andrix_

_-----------------------------------------_

_Rain, rain, go away,  
Come again another day,  
All the world is waiting for the sun_

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"We're lost," a gruff voice said from behind him.

Fay D. Fluorite just grinned and turned around to look at the dark one who was walking a few feet behind him.

"Kuro-puu is so negative!" he said in his happy way as he walked backwards along the dirt road.

"You're gonna trip, you stupid magician," he sad as his red eyes narrowed. "and I'm not negative! You got us lost!"

It was true. Fay had dragged Kurogane out to look for any signs of Sakura's feather. They had spent the day wandering the countryside asking anyone they met if anything strange had happened, or if they knew of any stories or legends concerning a magical feather. They had kept with Syaoran's story that they were collecting legends for a book, but they hadn't found anything, and now it seemed they had lost their way.

"Now now… I'm sure we can find our way home. We haven't gone too far. After all! We can still understand each other!" he said, crossing his arms behind his head.

Kurogane gave a little growl. He almost hoped that they would end up going out of that stupid manjuu's range so he wouldn't have to speak with the happy fool.

"You're going to trip," he said again, an obvious touch of annoyance in his voice.

The magician's grin grew as he looked at the ninja through his half-closed crystal blue eyes.

"Hyuu Is Kuro-wanko mad at me?" he asked.

Wanko! Memories of their time in the virtual world of Outo came back to him and he was instantly confronted with the desire to strangle the bouncy blonde baka.

"Call me by my name!" he growled.

Fay laughed and continued his backwards walking. Kurogane had just begun to wonder how in the name of all that was holy he had gone this far without tripping. The thought crossed his mind too late, because at that very moment, with a gasp and a cloud of dust, the idiot fell… forward.

Kurogane stopped and stared down at the back of Fay's head. He wasn't quite sure what he should have done. It seemed to defy all possible laws of physics, but then again so did jumping dimensions. He opted to laugh at the magician's misfortune.

Fay say up and tried to get the dirt off his face.

"Wah! Kuro-sama is so mean!" he whined.

Kurogane stopped and frowned down at the whining wizard.

"I am not," he said, "Get up."

"Yes, Kuro-pon is a meanie." Fay whined again.

"Just get up!" he grumbled, getting angry. He looked up at the sky, and was surprised to see that the sun had been blotted out by the clouds. It had been clear when they left, and now it seemed like it was going to start raining at any moment.

"Not until you apologize." Fay said, looking up at the taller man with a puppy face that could rot teeth.

"Come on, you stupid magician! It's going to rain!" Kurogane said, kicking the sole of his shoe lightly in an effort to spur the magic-user into action.

The words had barely left the dark one's mouth when a large raindrop splattered on the ground nearby. Another hit his head and caused part of his spiky hair to fall flat. One final drop landed on Fay's nose with an audible 'plip'. At this, the silly grin instantly returned to the magician's face as he leapt up.

"Well, Kurorin, we'd better find some shelter!" he said, as the few drops turned into a downpour.

He walked off down the road. Kurogane followed, hands in his pockets, grumbling and finding himself once again suppressing the urge to strangle the other man.

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"Syaoran-kun, Fay-san and Kurogane-san haven't returned yet… and it's almost time for dinner…" Sakura said worriedly as she looked out the window through a torrent of rain.

"I know, Princess." Syaoran replied, "But don't worry. Fay and Kurogane can take care of themselves. I'm sure they'll be okay."

"Puu!" Mokona said in agreement from atop Sakura's head, "Syaoran-kun is right! They're strong, they'll be just fine! I can still sense them, so they can't be too far away!"

"I hope you're both right," the princess said as she moved away from the window. She left the room to go help Arashi with dinner.

Mokona hopped off her head into Syaoran's arms. Syaoran sighed as he watched her go. He hoped he was right too. Mokona looked up at him.

"Puuu… Syaoran mustn't worry! Sakura-chan needs your smile." Mokona said, reaching up to squish Syaoran's cheeks into a smile.

Syaoran let out a little laugh and smiled down at the puffball. "You're right, Mokona."

Mokona gave a little grin, hopping onto his head.

After they had finished dinner and helped Arashi clean up, Sakura was back at the window. She sat patiently, looking for any sign of their other companions through the wind and rain. Syaoran gave a little smile and placed a hand on his princess' shoulder in an effort to ease her worries.

"How about we leave a light in the window for them tonight?" he suggested, "Maybe they'll see it and be able to find their way back home."

Arashi stood in the doorway to the kitchen, drying her hands. "Yes, a light in the window sounds like a good idea. If they're lost, it may guide them back here. I can leave the front door unlocked as well," she said.

Sakura nodded in agreement. "Okay. That sounds good. I hope they're safe…"

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Kurogane shoved open the door of the old abandoned barn they'd found and looked around. Beside him, the magician was soaking wet and shivering slightly. Kurogane was cold too, but he wasn't about to show it. He had to admit, though, the light clothes of this world were not meant for cold autumn rain.

"This will have to do," he said, pulling Fay inside.

"H-hyuu, it gets rather cold here when it rains doesn't it?" he mumbled.

"I thought your world was as frozen wasteland," Kurogane replied, his rain-flattened hair sticking to his skin. "Shouldn't you be used to this?"

"Well, Celes may be cold, but at least there I have warm clothes," he said, indicating that both he and Kurogane were soaked through to the skin. He then grinned, "Kuro-puu looks like a drowned rat."

"You don't look much better, stupid magician!" Kurogane growled, prodding the other man.

Fay laughed. "Angry Kuro-wanko goes wan-wan!" he said, prodding back.

"What the hell is wan-wan?!" the ninja demanded, leaping at the magician.

The blonde fool leapt out of the way before Kurogane could catch him. This resulted in the oh-so-stealthy ninja landing flat on his face in a pile of old straw. He sat up and tried to clean himself off. He spat bits of the yellow material out of his mouth.

"Bastard!" he growled, a vein the size of Russia throbbing in his temple. "Why the hell did you do that?"

"Well I wasn't going to let you attack me!" the magician said in his annoying, sing-song way.

"Idiot! Fool! Bastard!" he ranted, leaping to his feet. The straw clung to his wet form like paper and glue.

Fay laughed again and patted his head annoyingly. "Aww, Kuro-puu! I love you too!"

"WHAT?!" he shouted, leaping at him again.

This time Fay started running around the barn. He laughed as Kurogane bounded after him, shouting random insults. Both stopped dead, however, when a loud crack of thunder made the ground beneath them shake. This was followed closely by a flash of lightning that filled the whole barn with a harsh white light and causes some random bird to make quite a commotion in the rafters. Kurogane's face paled as he tripped and landed on his knees, startled by the sudden noise. Fay blinked and looked over his shoulder at the ninja.

"Kuro-pii?" he said, "Are you alright?"

"Of course I'm alr—" he was cut off by another crack of thunder, which made his eyes widen a bit, despite his effort to hide it.

"Kuro-pon! Are you scared of a little storm?" he asked, kneeling down.

"No, fool!" he snarled, glaring at the blonde, "I am not afraid!"

Fay smiled and hugged him. "Aw, it's alright, Kuro-sama. It's only a storm."

"I'm not afraid." The ninja said again… but he made no effort to pull out of the magician's hold.

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_Heeeey! Look at that! You made it all the way through the first chapter of my first fan fiction! Yay for you! I'll admit, this chapter was short. In Word, it's only about 5 pages and around 1600 words. But this seemed like a good place to stop. Lyrics at the start are from Breaking Benjamin's song 'Rain'. I thought it was fitting for this chapter. And DO NOT bitch at me for making Kuro-puu afraid of thunderstorms. There's no place where it says he isn't, to my knowledge. So neh. My fan fiction, I'll do whatever I want. And this does have plot. It is going somewhere. And I will not update if you demand me to._

_See you next time,_

_- Andrix_


	2. Your Secret's Safe With Me

_Before I begin, I want to respond to a review on the last chapter. Someone under the name of Reichi wrote a review, and I just want to say: Exactly! Everyone I consulted said 'Fay should be afraid! Kurogane should comfort him! (Actually one person suggested Kuro-pii be afraid of Dr. Pepper)', but Fay has enough to angst over. The only problem Kuro-wanko has is being booted out of his world by Tomoyo-hime. That and some angst in the later chapters of the manga, but let's keep this spoiler free, shall we? As usual, I own nothing but the plot._

_Enjoy,_

_- Andrix_

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_Of all the places I looked and all the pictures I took,  
One of them is here with me now,  
I'm finally finding out how  
Sure things fall_

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It was official. Kurogane did not like sleeping on hard floors. He sat up with a loud groan, looking around. They were still in the barn. It had stopped raining, however, and there was sunlight streaming through various cracks in between the boards that made up the barn wall. In his looking around, he spotted the magician curled up on the floor near him, using his arms as a pillow. He was snoring lightly.

Kurogane watched him for a second, then realized what he was doing and stood up quickly, stretching, several joints cracking loudly. He kicked Fay lightly, in an effort to get him up.

"Oi, idiot, get up," he said, hands on his hips.

Fay grumbled something about chocolate fondants and rolled over, curling into a tighter ball. Kurogane gave a little growl and kicked him again, a little harder this time.

"Oi! Get up!" he commanded, his eyes narrowing.

Fay groaned, sitting up. "Kuro-tan didn't have to kick so hard."

"I hardly even nudged you!" Kuro growled.

Fay stood up and stretched, his normal silly grin returning to his face. He scratched his head and looked around.

"Hyuu! That was quite the storm last night, wasn't it, Kuro-piipii?" he said, smiling at Kurogane.

"Whatever." The ninja said gruffly, not making eye contact. "We need to get going. Those kids are probably worried."

"Yes" Fay agreed, moving over to the door. As he passes Kurogane, he paused to say, "Your secret is safe with me, Kuro-sama."

Kurogane blinked/ He knew what the magician meant. Some part of him was somewhat relieved that the fool wasn't going to blab the fact that he was afraid of a little thing like thunderstorms to everyone and their brother. He shoved that little bit away and instead replied with another gruff 'whatever'.

Fay pulled open the door and let the full brunt of the morning sun fill the wooden structure. It took a minute for their eyes to adjust. Fay shielded his eyes with his hand, gazing out into the day.

"Well, Kuro-pon, let's be off."

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With a heavy heart, Sakura blew out the flittering lantern flame. They had left the light there overnight in hopes that Fay and Kurogane would see it and be able to find their way back. Syaoran was standing beside her while Mokona was perched on the window sill.

"Puu…" he mumbled, looking out into the fields and down the dirt road. "They still aren't back."

"That was a pretty bad storm last night," said Syaoran, "They probably found somewhere to spend the night."

Sakura's face brightened a little. "You're probably right, Syaoran-kun."

Sorata came up behind them, "I can go out with you to help look for them," he offered.

"Really, Sorata-san?" Syaoran asked, looking over at him.

Sorata nodded. "Sure! Everything is way too wet to work anyways."

"Mokona will stay here incase they come back!" the little while puffball said happily.

Sakura smiled. "I'll stay here too."

Syaoran looked over at her, "Are you sure, princess?"

Sakura nodded, "Yeah, Moku-chan and I will be here in case they come back."

Arashi looked out of the kitchen. "I could use your help in here, Sakura-chan."

"Okay, Arashi-san!" Sakura replied.

Syaoran smiled, "Don't worry, princess. Sorata-san and I will find them."

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This time it was Kurogane who was leading the way. He trusted Fay's sense of direction almost as much as he trusted the Manjuu to land them somewhere proper. In about an hour and a half, they were beginning to see familiar landmarks.

Fay watched as they walked past a house that he recognized from the day before.

"Hyuu! Kurorin is awesome!" he cheered, grinning, "We're back on the path!"

"No thanks to you." Kurogane grumbled.

Fay didn't retort. They continued on in silence, nothing but their footsteps and the sounds of the country morning filling the air. After a while, Kurogane stopped abruptly. Fay didn't notice, and ran into him with a quiet 'oof'.

"Kuro-wanko, why did you stop?" he asked, blinking.

"It's the boy," he said, indicating a pair of figures moving towards them.

"Hyuu!" Fay exclaimed, waving, "Syaoran-kun!"

A ways down the road, Syaoran waved back. "Fay-san! Kurogane-san!"

It was a few more minutes before they met up. Fay was grinning stupidly the whole time. He saw that Sorata was with Syaoran and waved to him too.

"Syaoran-kun, Sorata-san! Wonderful to see you!" he chimed.

"Yes," the other two men agreed.

"What happened to you two?" Syaoran asked.

Fay went to speak but was cut off by Kurogane.

"The stupid magician got us lost," Kurogane grumbled, "Then we got caught in the storm last night."

"Well it's good to know you're both alright," Sorata grinned, then motioned back towards the way they had come, "You guys must be hungry. Arashi was making breakfast when we left."

"Breakfast sounds really good, eh Kuro-puu?" Fay said, grinning at the other man.

"I'm not hungry," he grumbled. However, a second later his stomach growled loudly, protesting this fact. The three others laughed as his eyes narrowed.

"I think your stomach disagrees with you, Kurogane-san," Sorata said.

"Yeah, yeah… whatever…" he grumbled, walking off down the path.

Fay was close behind him. Sorata and Syaoran made their way to the front of their little group so they could lead the way back to the house. Syaoran looked back at Kurogane and Fay.

"Did you find out anything?" he asked.

"No, sadly," said Fay, "We asked quite a few people, but no one knew of anything concerning a magical feather. I guess there isn't one in this world."

"Didn't the Manjuu say there was a strange power here, though?" Kurogane said, frowning.

"Yes," Fay answered, "but that could be anything magical. "

"So I suppose we'll be moving on again…" Syaoran said quietly.

"Looks like it," Fay said, crossing his arms behind his head as he'd done the day before.

They walked the rest of the virtually in silence. When they finally reached the house, Mokona burst out the door to greet them.

"Fay! Kuro-pii!" he squealed, hugging Fay first then flying at Kurogane.

"Bah!" Kurogane growled as the puffball attached himself to his neck. "Get off me, stupid Manjuu!!"

"Puu!" he said, "Mokona was worried!"

"Whatever! Get off me!" the ninja growled, pulling the little creature off his neck.

Fay and Syaoran laughed as Sakura emerged from the house and smiled.

"Fay-san! Kurogane-san!" she exclaimed, "You're back!"

"Of course, Sakura-chan" Fay said, "Sorry if we made you worry."

"It's okay. You're back now." She said, "Breakfast is ready."

The four men and the puffball followed her back inside.

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After breakfast, Sakura was helping Arashi around the house while Syaoran had offered to help Sorata work in the fields. Fay was sitting on the stairs of the back porch watching them. Kurogane was there as well, but his eyes were trained on something other than the two in the field.

"Kuro-pon has been staring for about 20 minutes now," Fay mumbled, looking over at the ninja.

Kurogane's eyes narrowed. "You alwas look like a sad little cat who's been left in the rain when you sit like that."

"Do I?" he chirped.

"Yes, whenever you think no one's watching. It's obnoxious." Kurogane muttered.

"Kuro-tan pays too much attention to things that aren't important," the blonde one said.

"You're such a fake…" he said, glancing out into the field.

"And what about you, Kuro-puu?" Fay said, ""You act like you don't like Mokona or your companions, yet you do great things for them. You also act like you're not afraid of anything, bu—"

"Shut up," the dark one growled.

Fay grinned. "I told you, Kurorin. Your secret is safe with me."

"I trust you almost as far as I could throw you." Kurogane hissed.

"Well, Kuro-sama could probably throw me pretty far," Fay said with a laugh.

"Come here and we can test that theory," Kurogane shot back with a smirk.

Fay grinned back. "Kuro-piipii would have to catch me first."

Kurogane was about to lunge at the magician when a familiar 'Mekyo!!' was heard from within the house and a cry of surprise rang from the field. Sorata was suddenly 10 feet off the ground, suspended in the air by a vine that was wrapped around his ankle.

In the middle of the field was a huge, monstrous plant thing. It's mouth dripping with an acrid-smelling goop. On its head was a patch of plants that resembled a various types of weeds and on its massive tongue was… Sakura's feather, protected by its natural barrier.

"Hyuuu… Well… I guess that explains why no one knew about the feather," Fay said, blinking.

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_Hey,_

_Whoot! Second chapter is finished. This, once again, wasn't a very long chapter… it seemed longer on paper. However, it is about a page longer typed than the last one was!! Thanks for reading. Lyrics at the start come from _Sure Thing Falling_ by Yellowcard. Review, share, and love, but don't pester for updates! Thanks again, and as always,_

_See you next time,  
- Andrix_


	3. It Just Takes Practice

_Hey, valued readers,_

_Andrix here. Thanks for sticking with me this far. I noticed that my readership dropped a lot between chapter one and chapter two. If you're still with me, then drop me a comment in the reviews! It's nice to know what people think, and knowing people actually appreciate my work and are willing to take a bit of time out of their lives to read my stuff really helps to motivate my writing. I appreciate anything you have to say, flames, praise, whatever. Everything is welcomed. I'd prefer you comment on this chapter, so I know at least someone is still here. I'd also like to thank all my friends. If it wasn't for you guys reading through this (even though you know next to nothing about the story or characters), I probably would have given up by now._

_Read, share, and enjoy,  
- Andrix_

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_I don't know reasons why you cry,  
I don't know reasons why you hide,_  
…  
_We don't need to escape,  
We all need the sunshine to believe_

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Syaoran looked up at the beast that was now in front of him. Only a moment ago, he and Sorata had been pulling weeds, now Sorata was dangling 10 feet in the air by his ankle.

He snapped out of his trance as the monster swung one of its massive vines in his direction. He leapt out of the way just in time, narrowly avoiding the flailing appendage.

Kurogane stared up at the beast as well.

"What the hell is THAT?" he said, blinking in disbelief.

"A Kyabetsu!" came Arashi's voice from behind him.

Fay turned around to look at her. "Kyabetsu?" he said, blinking, "You've seen one before?"

"They live all over this country," she said, staring at it wide-eyed, "They're normally a lot smaller than that, though!"

Sakura and Mokona were with her. "It has the feather!" the puffball exclaimed, pointing.

"My katana!" Kurogane exclaimed, "Give me my katana!"

With a 'pakuu', the Manjuu spat out a ball of light, which floated over to Kurogane and formed into Souhi. Kurogane was off in an instant. The monster proved to be smarter than it looked, however, and attempted to bring one of its vines right down onto Kurogane's spiky head.

"Kuro-sama!" Fay shouted to warn him of the impending danger.

Kurogane blinked, looking up just in time to see the vine. With a flash of light, the Kyabetsu's vine was dismembered and flailing about on the ground like a snake before laying still. Kurogane was standing there, Souhi drawn and dripping with a pale red sap-like substance. He smirked as the creature left out a howl of pain and dropped Sorata. Syaoran was there to catch him. As soon as both were out of the way, Kurogane leapt to attack the Kyabetsu again. Once again, the monster proved to be smarter than it looked. It turned its massive form just enough to let a thunderous roar in Kurogane's direction. A strange gas escaped with the noise. Kurogane fell back to the ground, coughing and sputtering. He covered his mouth and nose with his sleeve, glaring up at the beast.

"Damn… what was that?" he hissed.

"Kurogane-san!" Syaoran called.

"Stay back, kid!" Kurogane shouted back.

He was once again overcome with coughing, leaning on Souhi for support. The monster seemed to smirk as it raised a vine to crush Kurogane. At the very moment the appendage began to plummet towards him, Kurogane regained his composure.

"Hakama – Ryuujin!"

A bright flash of light, and the Kyabetsu was gone, completely destroyed by the attack. Sakura's feather was floating in the midst of everything. Kurogane looked up at it for a moment before he was, once again, overcome by a fit of coughing. The others ran over, but by the time they reached him, Kurogane had lost consciousness.

"Kurorin!" Fay and Mokona exclaimed. Fay dropped to his knees next to their fallen friend. Arashi was next to him.

"It's the poison," she said.

"Poison?" Mokona squeaked.

"Don't worry, we have an antidote. But we need to hurry and get him inside!" she said urgently.

"I'll get it ready!" Sorata said, running inside.

Fay helped Arashi get Kurogane into the house. Mokona grabbed the feather before he, Syaoran and Sakura followed them.

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It was hours later when Kurogane stirred awake. His head was pounding, as if some tiny marching band had taken up residence and did not want to leave. He turned his gaze to his left, seeing Fay sitting there with a washcloth clasped in his hand. He must have dozed off.

With a groan, Kurogane pushed himself to rest on his elbows. He felt as though there was a lump of rock in his throat. It made swallowing and breathing somewhat difficult. He started coughing hoarsely.

"Augh…" he gasped, holding his throat.

Fay stirred. "Kuro-pon… you're awake…"

"Yeah, what the hell happened?" he asked.

"You were poisoned," he said, "You need to lie down and rest."

"I'm fine," Kurogane argued.

"No, you're not," Fay insisted, placing a hand on his shoulder to push him back down. "Arashi-san said it would take a few days before the poison got out of your system completely."

"I'm fine, you idiot!" Kurogane hissed.

"No," Fay said, "Kuro-puu is not fine."

"Yes, I am! Get off me!" Kurogane said again.

Fay frowned. "Kuro-wanko, I'll sit on you if I have to."

"I'd like to see you – oof!!"

Kurogane's sentence was interrupted as the magician plopped down on his chest, forcing him back down to the pallet on which he was laying.

"What the hell?!" Kurogane snarled, "Get off me!"

"No," Fay said stubbornly. "You need to lie down and rest, and if this is the only way to make you do that, then fine."

"Moron! Idiot! Bastard!" Kurogane ranted.

"You need to come up with better names, Kuro-pii," Fay said, not budging.

"Get the hell off me!" he said again, trying to push the slender, blonde fool off his chest.

Fay moved so he could pin Kurogane's arms. "Stay, Kuro-wanko." He said seriously, "You'll make the children and Mokona worry."

Kurogane gave a deep-throated growl before snorting and laying still.

"Fine," he muttered.

Fay grinned and patted his head.

"Good boy," he said, standing and turning to flop down on the floor next to Kurogane's pallet.

"Why?" Kurogane groaned.

"Hm?" said Fay, looking up at him.

"Why are _you_ tending to me?" he asked.

"Because Syaoran-kun and Mokona are with Sakura-chan, Arashi-san is busy with dinner, and Sorata-san is recovering from his ordeal," he said, ticking names off on his fingers, "So that leaves ookinayanko to look after ookiwanko"

"Don't use those names. They're annoying," Kurogane grumbled, "Stupid magician."

"Kuro-tan is still a meanie," Fay said, pouting.

"Don't start that again," he hissed, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared up at the ceiling.

"How is Kuro-sama feeling anyway?" Fay asked, neatly folding the cloth.

"Like I tried to swallow a rock and it got stuck halfway down," he said, reaching up to rub his throat.

"It's the poison," Fay explained, "Arashi-san said it attacks the airways and makes them close, to suffocate a person."

"Wonderful," said Kurogane sarcastically.

"Don't be so negative, Kuro-pon" Fay said, "It's only a few days."

"Tch. That means a few days of putting up with you," the ninja grumbled.

"Aw, am I really that bad?" the magician asked.

"Well, n—Yes! Yes, you really are that bad!" Kurogane hissed.

"What was Kurorin going to say before his pride kicked in?" Fay asked teasingly.

"Shut up, stupid magician," he grumbled.

"Tell meee" Fay whined.

"If you tell me why it is you're constantly running away," Kurogane countered.

Fay went quiet. There was no smile on his face as he stood and turned towards the door.

"I'm going to go see how Arashi-san is doing with dinner," he mumbled.

Kurogane did not say a word as the magician walked out the door. However, he could not help but feel a little bad about exploiting Fay's weakness like that. He let out a little huff and forced that little bit of emotion away. It would not let him go that easy, however, and came back to give him a good, hard kick in the pants. He tried to force it away again, but again it came back, this time kicking even harder. He sighed and gazed at the door, waiting for Fay to come back in.

The magician entered the room a few minutes later, two steaming bowls of rice and two sets of chopsticks in his hands. Kurogane turned his gaze back to the ceiling.

"Sorry," he grumbled.

"Hm?" was Fay's reply.

"I said I was sorry," he said again.

"Its okay, Kuro-pon," he said, sitting down, "Can you sit up?"

Kurogane carefully pushed himself to a sitting position. "Yeah," he said, coughing a bit, "I can sit up just fine."

"Alright," Fay replied, handing Kurogane one of the bowls and a pair of chopsticks. He then picked up his own bowl. They ate in silence… until a grain of rice hit Kurogane in the side of his head. He blinked, but thought nothing of it, returning to his own rice. Then it happened again. And again. And a fourth time.

Kurogane turned towards Fay, intent on giving the fool a piece of his mind. What he saw made him stop short. Fay was sitting there, a look of deep concentration on his features. He was trying valiantly to get the rice from the bowl to his mouth with the strange utensils. Kurogane had to fight to keep a smile off his face.

"Like this," he said, demonstrating how to properly use the chopsticks.

Fay blinked and tried to mimic him, but failed and sent rice flying everywhere.

"Hyuu…" he mumbled, "This is hard…"

"It's not really," Kurogane said, "It just takes practice."

He showed Fay how to do it again. Once again, Fay tried and failed. He scowled slightly at the sticks in his hand. Kurogane sighed and set his down. He took a hold of Fay's hand. He shifted the chopsticks and repositioned Fay's fingers a bit.

"Now try." He said, letting go.

Fay blinked and tried again. This time, he succeeded. The rice made it all the way from the bowl to his mouth. He chewed happily then swallowed.

"Hyuu!" he exclaimed, "Thank you, Kuro-sama."

Once again, Kurogane found himself fighting a smile.

"Stupid magician, you probably would have gotten it on your own eventually," he said, "I was just tired of watching you flick rice all over the room."

He paused to pluck a grain of rice out of his hair.

"Especially since half of it was hitting me in the side of the head."

Fay grinned. "Kuro-puu is such a fake."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kurogane asked, shooting him a glare.

The magician just shook his head, and continued eating his rice.

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_Hey again, _

_Thanks for reading. The lyrics are from _Supercollider_ by Beat Crusaders. Remember to please, please, PLEASE leave a comment in the reviews if you read this all the way through. And even if you didn't, leave a comment to let me know why._

_See you next time, and remember:  
_

_Read, review, and love,  
- Andrix_


	4. Ninjas Don't Blush

_Mekyo!_

_Thanks for answering my tangent about a drop in readership. I did the math, and roughly half the people who looked at the first chapter turned around and left, but I know I have some dedicated readers, so I'm okay. You guys give me motivation to write this, you know! _

_And a few side notes: this is the longest chapter yet.__ Consider it a super long, extra special 'Merry Christmahanukwanzaka' present to you, my loyal readers. Happy holidays. And will the person who reviews under the name Reichi send me his/her email address somehow? You always say such nice things, and I'd like to thank you through something other than my author notes. _D

_Oh, and if this chapter happens to offend anyone who doesn't celebrate Christmas, or even if you do and it bugs you, I'm sorry – you can chew me out of you want. _: _I do celebrate Christmas, and since this chapter is being written while it's snowy and blustery and Christmassy out, the decorations in my town provided much of my inspiration. It seemed fitting. _

_Enjoy, _

_Andrix_

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_Something I've been keeping locked away behind my lips,_

_I can feel it breaking free with each and every kiss_

_I couldn't bear to hurt you, but its all so different now,_

_Things that I was sure of, they have filled me up with doubt_

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It was a few days before they were able to leave Tamago Country. Once Kurogane had fully recovered, the group was happy to be on their way. They said their goodbyes and thanks to Arashi and Sorata for housing them and taking care of Kurogane, then they all gathered behind the house for their final parting.

"Thank you both again. Arashi-san, Sorata-san… we appreciate your kindness." Syaoran said as Mokona spread his wings.

Arashi and Sorata smiled.

"It was no trouble, Syaoran-kun," Sorata said, "I owe you and Kurogane-san for saving my life. Maybe I'll have the chance to repay you someday."

It was Syaoran's turn to smile. Sakura and Fay waved happily as they disappeared, while Kurogane kept his same nonchalant expression. As the strange sensation of drifting between worlds came over them, Syaoran smiled as he felt Sakura's hand on his arm.

It seemed like an eternity before they landed. Sakura and Syaoran landed nicely… on their bottoms, but nicely. The two immediately started looking around for Fay and Kurogane.

And found them. The magician and the ninja had landed in a rather peculiar position. Fay was on his back, hands clutched at his chest. Kurogane, on the other hand… was on his hands and knees over Fay, looking down at the magician's expression, which he was sure mirrored his own. Surprise and embarrassment. However, there was probably a little anger mixed in with his.

"Oops…" came a familiar giggle as Mokona landed on Sakura's head. " It seems Mokona missed again."

It took a minute for Kurogane to react, but he did so in his trademark way, storming over to grab the manjuu off Sakura's head and stretching his cheeks.

"Stupid manjuu! Land us right!!" he growled as the puffball squeaked.

"Kuro-puu is blushing!" he managed to say, his voice slightly garbled by the stretching of his face.

Their bickering went on as Fay say up, trying to hide the fact that his own cheeks were crimson. Sakura went over to him.

"Fay-san, are you alright?" she asked, kneeling next to him, "You're red…"

"Yes, Sakura-chan, I'm fine," he said with a smile, standing up and dusting himself off. "Rather cold here, isn't it?" he added, in an attempt to change the subject.

Sakura blinked, and noticed that there was snow on the ground. They must have landed on a road, because it was clean where they were standing.

"Oh, there's snow!" she said, smiling, "I haven't seen snow since Jade Country!"

Syaoran stood up and brushed himself off as well. Kurogane let Mokona go. Free from the ninja's cruel torture, the puffball floated over and landed on Fay's shoulder.

"Hey, Mokona, do you sense a feather?" Syaoran asked.

Mokona took a minute to concentrate before he said, "There's some power, but it's very faint, and I can't tell if it's a feather or not…"

"Well, I guess we're staying here for a while then." Fay said happily, looking off down the road they were standing on. A little ways down it, there was a fair-sized town. "We can probably find shelter down there in that village."

The others nodded in agreement, and their troupe set off down the road. When they reached the town, they were surprised to find that the streets were decorated with hundreds of tiny, sparkling lights on strings that were hanging on the street lights. There was a large pine tree in the middle of what seemed to be the town square, which was strung with many more of the tiny, sparkling lights. Wreaths were hung on every door, and many of the houses and shops had lighted window displays featuring various creatures fashioned out of the same lights, including angels and mechanical deer whose heads moved.

Sakura looked up at the lights as they walked down the street.

"Wooow! She exclaimed, "It's so pretty!"

"Hyuu" Fay mumbled, "It is very pretty!"

The citizens of the town bustled up and down the streets, some laden with shopping bags, while others seemed like they just wanted to get home and get out of the cold. Suddenly, a hat with what looked like little cat ears on it blew towards them on a rather strong breeze. Ahead of them, a young girl was pushing through the crowd. She was the spitting image of Tomoyo, the girl Fay, Syaoran and Sakura knew as the head of the Piffle Princess Corporation. Kurogane, of course, knew her as that and the priestess princess of Japan.

"Excuse me! Excuse me! I need to get my hat!" she said as she attempted to push past a group of women with shopping bags.

Kurogane blinked and reached out to catch the hat. It was light and made of fleece. When the girl reached them, he held it out to her.

"You should be more careful," he muttered.

The girl smiled and took the hat. She pulled it on her head, and then bowed slightly. "Thank you, sir!" she said, "I will try and be more careful from now on!"

Kurogane just gave a little huff and crossed his arms, looking away.

A voice from down the street called out a name, and the girl looked over her shoulder. "Coming Souma!" she called, and then looked back at them, "I need to go now. Thank you again!"

And with that she ran off back down the street. Mokona hopped over to Kurogane's shoulder.

"Puu! Kurorin is blushing!" he teased, poking the ninja's face.

Kurogane growled. "I am not blushing!" he said, "Ninjas don't blush!"

The others laughed as Mokona continued to tease Kurogane. Eventually, the girl made her way back, this time leading a tall woman with darker skin and brown hair.

"This is the kind man that saved my hat," she said, indicating Kurogane.

Kurogane stopped bickering with Mokona and looked over at the person he knew as the princess of his country, and blinked. The woman smiled.

"Oh, so it was you that stopped Tomoyo-chan's hat from blowing away?" the woman asked.

Kurogane just blinked, but he was knocked out of his trance as Fay tossed his arms around Kurogane's shoulders. "Yes, Kuro-sama was sweet enough to catch the nice young lady's hat"

"Get off me, you idiot!" Kurogane hissed, pushing Fay away.

Fay grinned and let him go. Kurogane grumbled something about him being a fool, crossing his arms over his chest again.

"You're all dressed very strangely," Souma commented. "You are not from around here, are you?"

"No, no we're not," Syaoran said, "We only just arrived here."

"Ah, and do you have a place to stay?" she asked.

"Nope!" Mokona chirped, "We don't have anywhere to stay"

Souma blinked at the puffball, which was now on Sakura's head. "What a strange creature! And it talks! What is it?"

"Mokona is Mokona" Mokona replied.

"How odd…" Tomoyo said, "Well, since you don't have anywhere to go, how would you like to stay at my home?"

"Really?" Sakura asked, looking at the girl.

"Of course!" said Tomoyo, "You can stay at my house as long as you like!"

"Many thanks, Tomoyo-san." Fay piped in, "You're very kind to offer!"

"It's no trouble. So what are your names?" she asked.

"This is Sakura-chan, you've met Mokona, the boy is Syaoran-kun, I'm Fay, and the grumpy one is called Kuro-puu!" Fay said, pointing to each in turn, stating Kurogane's 'name' in a very pleased way.

"It's Kurogane, you idiot!" Kurogane shouted.

Tomoyo laughed. "It's very nice to meet all five of you. Come, Souma and I will lead you to my home."

As they walked, Sakura was looking around at all the lights. "Tomoyo-chan, why are there so many little lights everywhere?"

"They're Yule decorations," she replied.

"Yule?" the travellers asked.

"Don't they have Yule where you're from?" she asked, blinking.

Sakura shook her head. "No, I've never seen anything like this…"

"Neither have I" said Fay.

"Well, where Mokona comes from there are people who celebrate something called Christmas… they hang pretty lights like this and decorate a tree, too." Mokona said. "They get together and sing songs and eat yummy food and everyone is so nice…"

"That's exactly what Yule is." Tomoyo said, "It's a time for friends and family to get together and have fun and exchange gifts, and we burn a Yule log that lasts until the holidays are over. It's a wonderful time of year."

"It sounds like so much fun" Fay said, "Eh Kuro-puu?"

Kurogane just huffed and looked at a nearby window display. Tomoyo smiled.

"Come, let's get to my house" she said, leading them along.

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When they reached Tomoyo's house, she was quickly able to find clothes for all of them. The style of the traditional clothing in this world was very similar to that of the Republic of Hanshin, though the clothes were a bit heavier due to the colder weather. Sakura and the Tomoyo of this world were becoming fast friends, just as they had in Piffle. They had gone out with Syaoran, Souma and Mokona to ask around about the feather. Bored, Kurogane had decided that he'd follow Fay around the house, 'exploring' as he called it.

They had happened upon a room lined with book shelves. In the middle of this room, there was a small table with a board on it that was made up of squares that alternated colours between black and white. And on this board were two sets of game pieces. Fay made his little whistling noise and enthusiastically pulled Kurogane over to the table, sitting him down.

Kurogane scrutinized the little pieces sitting on the table in front of him. They were black, and came in several different shapes and sizes. Across the board was another set that was exactly the same save for the fact that it was white. The ones in the front line resembled squat, simplified humans, while two in the back row appeared to be swords stuck in stones, and another two looked like ravens. Fay sat across the table from him, holding a particular piece that was in the shape of a pedestal with an ornate little crown on it.

"How is this even played?" Kurogane asked, "I've never seen this game before."

"Well," said Fay, setting the piece in his hand back on the board, "It looks like a game in my country. It was called chess… the set up is similar, and the pieces seem to represent the same things."

"Chess?" asked Kurogane, looking up at him.

"It's a game of wits and strategy," Fay explained, picking up one of the ravens.

"Then I don't think you're really qualified to play," Kurogane said with a smirk.

Fay shot Kurogane a smirk of his own. "Is that a challenge, Kuro-sama?"

"It would be, if I knew how this worked," he replied as he lifted up one of the little people. "This is…"

"A pawn," Fay said, "They're the simplest pieces on the board. They can only move forward, or diagonally to capture an opponent."

"So the object is to capture all of you opponent's pieces?" he said, setting the pawn back on the board.

"Not quite. The object is to capture the king. This one." He showed Kurogane the piece he had been holding before. "But each piece has a particular way it can move."

"Sounds confusing," the ninja replied with a little scowl.

"It can be" Fay chirped, "Do you want to learn it?"

"Alright," Kurogane agreed.

It took Fay the better part of an hour to explain how everything worked to the ninja. Several times, Kurogane had gotten frustrated, but somehow Fay managed to keep him from giving up. It seemed like he was ready to play a game.

"Well, Kurorin, shall we play?" Fay asked, setting the pieces back up on the board.

"Fine," Kurogane said, "But I've been sitting here for an hour already. This better be worth the time."

"Let's make a wager, then," the magician suggested.

"A wager? On a game like this?" Kurogane asked, quirking his eyebrow.

Fay smiled, "It would make things more interesting, wouldn't it?"

"I suppose…," muttered Kurogane, "what kind of wager did you have in mind?"

"Kuro-pon can pick." Fay said, grinning.

Kurogane smirked. "No, no… you go ahead."

"Are you sure?" asked the magician, quirking his eyebrow.

"Why not?" Kurogane said, "I'm sure I can beat you, no matter what your little 'wager' is."

"Alright, Kuro-pii. But remember, you asked for it!" he said, "The loser has to do whatever the winner says for the rest of the day."

"Could you possibly be any more childish?" Kurogane asked, scowling.

"Kurorin said I could pick the wager, didn't he?" Fay chirped.

Kurogane growled, his scowl deepening. It was true; he had said that the Magician could pick, "Fine. Who goes first?"

"I do." Fay said, picking up a white pawn and shifting it two spaces forward. "White always moves first.

Their game progressed. Through the most of it, it was impossible to tell who would win. Kurogane surmised that Fay was taking it easy on him due to the fact that he was a beginner. No matter; it just made Kurogane all the more confident that he could beat the magician. But Fay proved him extremely wrong with one move. In a swift motion, he had captured his queen and thus turned the tide of battle completely. Despite his valiant efforts to turn the game around once more, every move he made proved to be futile. Eventually, the one word that made him cringe rang past the Magician's lips.

"Checkmate."

Kurogane's palm connected with his forehead with a resounding slap. He had lost, plain and simple. No tricks, no cheating. He had just… lost.

"You have _got _to be kidding me." He growled.

"I'm afraid not, Kuro-pon." Fay grinned, setting the board back up so it was ready for the next person to play. "I won, fair and square"

"Unfortunately." Kurogane grumbled.

"And you remember our little wager, right?" Fay said as he placed the final raven on the board.

"You can't be serious." He growled. "I will not be reduced to your slave for a day."

"I never said anything about being a slave, Kuro-puu," Fay replied, "It's not as though I'm going to put you to work."

"Then what are you going to make me do?" he scowled.

"Mmmm… I don't know," he said, tapping his chin in thought.

Suddenly Kurogane was faced with an overwhelming sense of foreboding doom. He wasn't sure why, but he was more than positive that he wasn't going to like the next words that would pass through the Magician's mouth. And he was absolutely right.

"Kuro-pon has to tell me exactly how he feels about me," he said, "No pride, no lies… the truth."

"Why the hell is that so important?" Kurogane demanded.

Fay smiled, "I have my own reasons," he said cryptically.

Kurogane's ruby eyes narrowed. "Uh huh…"

"Kuro-chan let me pick the wager… now he has to do whatever I say. So spill." Fay retorted.

"Fine," Kurogane muttered. It took him several minutes and a few false starts to gather his thoughts. When he was relatively sure that he had everything the right way in his mind, he tried again.

"Honestly, I think you're a fool. You're childish, you're a fake, and Kami only knows what you're hiding from the rest of us," he said.

He stopped to look at Fay's face, and was surprised to see that the magic-man seemed hurt. He blinked, and then continued.

"But… at the same time, I'm glad you're around. If you weren't here, things would be considerably duller. You're always able to make someone smile… and I wouldn't have anyone to take my frustrations out on… so that's what I think of you. Happy, Fay?"

Fay blinked. "Kurorin…"

"…What now?" the ninja asked.

A grin spread across the magician's face. "You called me by name"

"…So?" Kurogane looked away, flustered. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Kuro-puu called me by name" he chirped.

"Stupid Magician…" Kurogane said, standing.

Fay also stood and followed Kurogane as he walked out of the room. Much to the ninja's displeasure. Fay continued to follow him, repeating the same phrase every so often, and each time, Kurogane could feel his temper rising. Eventually he spun around, pinning Fay against a wall.

"Shut up," he said, glowering at the magician.

Fay grinned. "Oh, did I make Kuro-s—"

He was interrupted as Kurogane did the only thing he could think of to silence the blonde. In a second, the yammering noises coming from the magician's mouth were silenced as Kurogane's lips suddenly pressed against his own. He didn't fight to get away, thought he had to admit id surprised him. A lot. After a moment, the ninja pulled away, keeping Fay pinned.

"I said shut up," he muttered.

Fay stared at him for a minute before a grin slowly began to spread across his features.

"Kurorin… what was that?" he asked.

Kurogane blinked, taking a second to actually think about why kissing the moron was the only way to shut him up that came to mind. Almost instantly, his cheeks went crimson. Flustered, he let the magician go.

"Just to shut you up," he said, "but apparently that doesn't work."

"Oh?" Fay said, "Usually you make some allusion to my running away when you want to shut me up. You've never done that before"

"Don't read anything into it," he growled, turning away.

"If I remember right," Fay said, "You still have to do whatever I say, Kuro-chin."

Kurogane stopped, clenching his fists. He mentally kicked himself for eve agreeing to the Magician's stupid little wager He turned back to face him again, looking the moron right in the eyes.

"So?" he hissed.

"So, I want Kuro-tan to answer a question for me," Fay said, giving him one of his usual silly grins.

"What sort of question?" Kurogane asked through gritted teeth.

"Why did Kuro-puu suddenly kiss me?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest, "It's not like you don't know how to make me be quiet."

Kurogane's eyes narrowed again. "I never should have agreed to this."

"But it's too late now" Fay chirped.

"Unfortunately," he muttered.

"Kuro-pon backed himself into a corner… now he has to get himself out," Fay said, smiling at him in a slightly smug way.

He just continued grinning as Kurogane shot him a vicious glare. The magic-man was right, and he knew that. The problem was he didn't quite understand why he'd done it himself. Thankfully, right at that moment, the front door opened as the other came back from looking for information. Kurogane let out a genuinely relieved sigh. Fay smiled his silly, happy smile and welcomed them home.

As Tomoyo beckoned her guests to join her in the sitting room so they could talk, Fay caught Kurogane's arm before he could move along with the rest.

"Later, Kuro-sama," he chirped, then hurried after the others.

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When Kurogane later found out that he was to share a room with Fay, he was positive the Fates were conspiring against him. And the fact that there was only one bed in the room confirmed this.

"I'm sleeping on the floor," were the first words to pass his lips as he walked into the room.

Fay blinked at him. "Nonsense, Kuro-pon! Tomoyo-chan said it gets very cold here at night. You should stay in the bed."

"And where will you sleep?" Kurogane asked, looking over at him.

"This place is cold, but still warmer than my country. I'll sleep on the floor."

Kurogane huffed. "Fine," he said, "But don't wake me up wanting to switch halfway through the night or something."

"Of course not" Fay chirped.

One thing was on Kurogane's mind as he got himself ready for bed. It was still on his mind as Fay was setting up camp on the floor beside the bed, making a make-shift futon out of spare blankets. Kurogane flopped down onto the soft mattress as Fay nestled under another blanket. It was on his mind as he closed his eyes.

It was on his mind as Fay said, "Goodnight, Kuro-sama."

Kurogane gave a little grunt in reply and turned off the lamp on the bedside. He slept peacefully for a few hours before he was awoken by some noise on the street out front of the house. A car was speeding by, its engine rumbling loudly. He grumbled and flopped over onto his side. The room was lit brightly by the light of the full moon in the window reflecting off the snow on the ground. He sighed and glanced down at Fay, who was still on his 'bed' on the floor.

Kurogane watched him sleep. He looked so peaceful, so happy. As he watched the blonde sleep, his mind went back to what had happened earlier that day. And as he thought, he felt something stir inside him. He managed to push it away, but not completely. He carefully reached out and touched Fay's bare shoulder. His skin was chilled. Tomoyo had been right; it did get rather cold at night.

He sighed and nudged Fay. The other man blinked awake.

"Kuro-sama?" he mumbled drowsily.

"Come up here," Kurogane said, moving over so there was enough room for the other to lay on the bed with him.

"What?" Fay asked, sitting up.

"Come up here. It's warmer up here… you look cold," he muttered, trying to keep a nonchalant tone.

Fay smiled and crawled up onto the bed, bringing his blanket with him. "Kuro-puu is awfully kind tonight," he said in a sing-song way.

"Don't read anything into it. I just don't want you getting sick. If you get sick then we'll all get sick," he huffed.

"Kuro-pon, stop faking," Fay said, "It doesn't suit you at all."

Kurogane blinked at the magician. He knew what Fay meant, once again. The magician, of course, was smarter than he looked. The expression on his face seemed to say that he knew exactly what was going through Kurogane's head, and had been for most of the day.

Kurogane sighed. "Just go to sleep."

Fay glanced at a clock on the bedside table. "Uh-uh, Kuro-pii still has to do what I say for another… two minutes," he said, "So stop faking and tell me the truth."

Kurogane was about to snap, but found he was just too tired. "…I don't know," he admitted, "I don't know why that happened, and I don't know what's going on. And I don't know if it means anything so just… shut up about it."

Fay smiled. "Was that so hard?"

"I don't have to answer anymore of your silly little questions," Kurogane said with a smirk, "It's midnight. Go to sleep."

Fay glanced at the clock once more. "So it is" he said, "Fine. Goodnight, Kurorin."

"Goodnight, Fay," Kurogane said, "Go to sleep already."

"Kuro-tan called me b—" Fay started, but Kurogane pressed a finger to his lips.

"Shut up, and go to sleep," he said.

Fay just smiled and closed his eyes, yawning. He was asleep in a manner of minutes. Kurogane couldn't keep himself from smiling this time. He stayed awake, watching the magician sleep for a while, until he too drifted off once more.

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_Hope you enjoyed a bit of fluff to keep you warm through the cold weather. Have a safe and happy holiday season, everyone. I'll see you all in the New Year._

_And yes, this is going to evolve a lot. Possibly into lemons. There was meant to be one in this chapter, but as I went on it just didn't fit. So, it's fluffy._

_- Andrix_


	5. You Can Stay With Me

_Mekyo_

_Hello out there, those of you in fandom land! I know, I know… that has taken a ridiculously long time. But, after my Christmas break I was instantly attacked by finals and a half-hour seminar that I had to put together in three days. Things have just started to calm down now. I'm into my second semester and things are going smoothly, so hopefully I'll be able to update a lot more in the near future. I thank you all, my dear and loving fans, for sticking with me through this. Hopefully this chapter lives up to the horribly long wait._

_Take care, _

_Andrix_

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_Hold on, before it's too late,  
Until we leave this behind  
Don't fall, just be who you are  
It's all that we need in our lives_

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The next morning, Kurogane was awoken at an ungodly hour by Fay, and dragged out into the streets to 'admire the scenery'. Kurogane reluctantly followed after him, and couldn't help but recall the last time he and Fay had gone out alone. And his still-sleepy mind wandered and wandered, back to their night in the barn and that thunderstorm. He didn't quite understand why, but that memory seemed rather fond. The night he spent in Fay's embrace until the storm faded away… he shook his head as Fay pulled him over to look in a shop window, and pulled him back to reality.

"Hyuu!" Fay chirped. "Look, Kuro-puu. Isn't that pretty?" he indicated a carved crystal that seemed to be shaped like a horse, save for the horn on its head.

"Horses don't have horns," Kurogane scoffed.

"Silly Kurorin, it's not a horse. It's a unicorn," Fay said, hanging off Kurogane's arm. A couple girls who passed them by giggled and Kurogane pulled his arm away, looking intently at the intricate little crystal structure to hide the fact that his cheeks were, once again, pink.

"Uni-what?" he said.

"Unicorn. It's a mythical horse that's said to appear before the pure of heart," Fay explained, "It's not immortal, but it isn't easily killed. They can move incredibly fast. So fast that the instant you see one, it can be gone and seem like nothing more than a trick of the light."

"You act as though you've met one," Kurogane said, glancing at him.

Fay seemed to laugh a bit as a slightly sad look came to his eyes. "No… one would never appear before me. I'm far from pure."

"Oh?" Kurogane said, raising his eyebrow, "How so?"

"Look at this one, Kuro-pon, it moves!" Fay exclaimed, changing the subject as he turned his attention to another crystal shape. This one was a pair of people dancing. It spun around slowly as a small mechanism worked within the porcelain base it stood on.

"Don't change the subject!" Kurogane exclaimed.

Fay looked at him with a silly grin. "Why, Kuro-chan, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I'm sure you don't," Kurogane muttered, moving to continue on down the street. "Come on, we _should_ be looking for information. We still don't know if there's actually a feather in this world or not."

"Business, business, business with you isn't it, Kuro-tan?" Fay chimed as he followed after his companion. "Look, all the businesses here are closed. It's a holiday. Perhaps we should take a break from our business too."

Kurogane frowned. "You make me sound uptight," he said, shooting the magic man a glare.

"You are uptight, Kuro-sama" Fay chirped.

"I am not!" Kurogane shot back.

"Oh? Well then, prove it to me," Fay challenged.

Kurogane didn't respond. He was slightly surprised to find that all the ideas that crept into his head involved Fay. Every last one of them. He didn't act, only looked away. "Well if we aren't going to be doing anything worthwhile out here, then we should go back to the house."

"If Kuro-pon wants to" he chirped, crossing his arms behind his head and heading off down the street. "I want to window shop some more!"

Kurogane scowled. "You'd better not get yourself lost!!" he shouted after the blonde's retreating back.

"Don't worry, Kuro-tan! The house isn't that far away," he said, waving.

Kurogane huffed and shoved his hands deep in his pockets, turning to head back for the house. It was about noon now; they had been wandering about for a few hours. When he arrived at their temporary home, he found that Syaoran, Sakura and Mokona had gone out, Souma was cleaning, and Tomoyo was cooking lunch. He walked into the kitchen.

"Need any help?" he asked curtly.

Tomoyo looked over her shoulder at him. "Well, yes. If you could chop those carrots there…"

Kurogane nodded and went over, picking up a knife and beginning to chop the carrots that were sitting on the counter.

"Where's your friend?" asked Tomoyo as she dropped a pinch of some sort of spice into the pot she was stirring.

"He said he wanted to 'window shop' more," Kurogane muttered.

"He's rather odd, isn't he?" commented Tomoyo.

"Odd? That doesn't even begin to cover it. He's annoying and stupid and…" Kurogane trailed off.

"And?" Tomoyo asked, blinking at him.

"Nothing," Kurogane mumbled.

"Oh? Is it really?" Tomoyo chirped.

"You sound like him," said the ninja, "His voice gets into my head. He's the only thing I hear and I hate it…"

"Hate is such a strong word, Kurogane-san," Tomoyo replied.

Kurogane was really getting grumpy now. "Are you getting at something?" he demanded, setting down the knife and looking over at her.

"I don't think you really hate Fay-san," Tomoyo said, "Why are you still with him if you don't like him?"

"I'm only trying to get home," Kurogane mumbled, "and they have the means to do that."

"How cold!" Tomoyo said, blinking at him, "you talk as though they don't mean anything to you! Is that really how you feel?"

"No!" Kurogane exclaimed, defensively, picking up the knife and resuming his chopping angrily, "the boy and the princess are good kids. The manjuu is annoying, but I can put up with him. He isn't nearly as annoying at that damn witch. And I don't hate Fay, I—" he stopped.

Tomoyo looked at him and gave him a smile and a giggle, "You sound like you have a crush on him!"

Kurogane let the knife in his hand clatter to the counter. He thought for a second, and then regained his composure, "Nonsense," he hissed.

"Of course" said Tomoyo, and obvious touch of sarcasm in her voice.

"Cook lunch yourself," Kurogane growled as he huffed and walked out of the room. He immediately headed for the room where he and Fay had found the chess board the day before. And as he did, he thought about what Tomoyo said. And he thought. And he thought. Before he realized it, he was sitting at the chess table, playing a game against himself.

All the facts supported what Tomoyo had said. He went back, thinking over all the time that they had spent together, and all the things that they had done, with or without the kids and that stupid white meat bun. About how he had reacted when he thought the idiot had gotten himself killed in Outo. About their battle with the witch Kishimu… even in the worst of times, he had helped Fay and Fay was always willing to help him. Maybe Tomoyo was right… maybe he didn't really hate Fay.

He was startled as he reached for a piece and someone else's hand moved it before he could. He looked up into the smiling blue eyes of the magician, blinking. His surprise, however, was quickly replaced with his normal, nonchalant expression.

"Back from your window shopping?" he muttered.

"Yes," Fay said, "Tomoyo-chan mentioned I might find you in here."

"Not for long," Kurogane muttered, standing.

"Why are you being so evasive?" the blonde asked, placing a hand on his shoulder to try and get him to sit back down. Kurogane shrugged it off.

"I am not being eva-…" he stopped, looking at Fay. The magician's expression was one of frustration. "What's with the look?" he asked.

"You are evasive, Kuro-pii. You always are. You deny what I say, you ignore me…"

"I deny what you say because most of it is lies," Kurogane grumbled.

"I highly doubt everything I say that pertains to you is a lie, Kuro-pon!" he said exasperatedly.

Kurogane blinked at the tone in his voice. "I didn't say everything; I said most of it…"

"Oh? What have I said that you haven't said is a lie?" Fay challenged, the same exasperated tinge to his words.

Kurogane thought. He was suddenly awash with guilt as he realized that there was not one thing Fay had said about him that he had not said was a lie. The tone the magician had didn't help his guilt, either. Had he really been upsetting the man this much? And for what, his pride? Suddenly, that didn't seem to matter anymore. He sat back down.

"I…I can't think of anything," he admitted, "I'm sorry…"

It was Fay's turn to be a little disbelieving. "Kuro-pon, did you just say you were sorry?"

"Yes, is that so hard to believe?" Kurogane said, glaring at him. "I thought about it, and I guess I kinda feel… well, guilty. I didn't realize what I was doing worked you up so much."

Fay's expression softened. He put a slender hand on the ninja's cheek, looking down at him. "Its okay, Kuro-puu," he said, smiling.

Kurogane looked up at him, his mind flashing back to the day before. He couldn't stop a little grin from inching over his lips. "I bet you can't beat me at chess two days in a row."

Fay smirked. "Are you really sure you want to make that wager?" he asked, sitting across the table.

"Mhmm," Kurogane replied, "and I'm going to beat you too."

"Alright, then… does Kuro-sama want to make the wager this time?" he asked.

"Do we have to make a wager?" Kurogane muttered as he set the board back up, remembering what he'd gotten sucked into the day before, "I mean, its chess."

"But wagers make it more fun, Kuro-rin," Fay said, grinning his silly little grin.

"Gambling addict," Kurogane muttered. Fay laughed.

Before they could begin, Sakura poked her head in the room. "Kurogane-san? Fay-san? Tomoyo-chan sent me to tell you that lunch is ready."

The both looked over at her. Fay smiled, "Yes, thank you Sakura-chan!" he stood, "Come on, Kuro-puu. It smells delicious."

Kurogane nodded. "Yeah," he said, standing as well and stuffing his hands in his pockets, walking out of the room with Fay.

_0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0_

"Where are we _going_?" asked Kurogane. It was dark and the seven of them – Souma, Tomoyo, Mokona, Sakura, Syaoran, Fay and him – were walking down the streets headed for town.

"It's a special night tonight, Kurogane-san." Tomoyo explained, "Tonight, they're hanging the star on the big tree in the town square! It marks the official beginning of the Yule celebrations!"

"Oh?" Fay asked curiously, "They put a star on the tree?"

"Yes," Tomoyo said, "It's a large crystal star that was made by a very skilled man. He owns a shop in town that sells all sorts of crystal figures. Some of them even move!"

"Ahhh!" Fay exclaimed, "I remember that shop! That was the one with the unicorn in the window!"

"Oh yeah…" Kurogane mumbled,

"So, Tomoyo-chan…" asked Syaoran, "How long does this 'Yule' last?"

"Officially, two days and three nights. Tonight is the first night. After that we have a banquet, and the day after that we exchange gifts, and there's a large ball held in the square." Tomoyo explained.

"It sounds like so much fun!" Sakura said happily.

"It is!" Tomoyo agreed.

When they reached the town square, it was already packed with people. Somehow, they managed to make their way to the front. Someone who appeared to be the mayor gave a long speech, and then slowly the star was raised. It was beautifully and intricately carved, and seemed to glow faintly on its own. As the clock chimed out that it was 9 PM, it came to sit on top of the tree.

And it lit up with a bright, warm light.

"Mekyo!" came a familiar voice.

"What?" Syaoran said, looking at the puff on his shoulder, "Where's the feather?"

"Its… in that star!" Mokona said, pointing.

Everyone instantly looked up at the top of the tree.

"Well," Kurogane muttered, "How the hell are we going to get that?"

"Hyuu! Looks like we have some plotting to do!" Fay exclaimed happily.

Kurogane almost snapped at him, but managed to hold back. Instead, he calmly agreed with a stiff, "Yeah."

_0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0_

"I say we smash the stupid thing…" Kurogane muttered.

"Kuro-puu!" scolded Fay, "We can't do that! It's far too important to these people!"

It was just after the ceremony, and the group of travelers was sitting in Tomoyo's living room, trying to think of ways to retrieve the feather that Mokona said was inside the crystal Yule star.

"So? Can't they just make another one?" he said.

"It took him a year to carve that star." Tomoyo said, "I remember when he first announced he was going to."

"See, Kuro-pon? Smashing is out of the question." Fay said matter-of-factly.

Mokona giggled. "Kuro-puu smash! Rawr!" he joked, tromping around on the table. Everyone laughed. Except Kurogane, of course, who lunged at him just as he usually did.

Syaoran thought seriously for a moment. "Would he let us see the star if we asked?" he said, "Maybe there's a way to get the feather out without breaking it."

"It's possible…" Tomoyo said, thinking, "You could ask him after the Yule celebration is over."

"So that means we're stuck here for three more days?" Kurogane grumbled.

"Don't be so negative, Kuro-wanko." Fay said, tapping his nose.

Kurogane scowled at him. "Whatever."

Tomoyo stood. "Right now, it may just be good to sleep on it," she said, smiling at her guests.

Everyone nodded and rose, heading off to their respective rooms. Mokona hopped on Kurogane's head lightly.

"Oh, oh!" he chirped, "What if Mokona floats up to the top of the tree and sucks up the star?"

"No."

"We could be super secret spies and-"

"No."

"How about-"

"No!! Why are you following us?! Your room is with the kids!" Kurogane growled. Fay laughed.

"Puuu… Kurorin is so mean," he muttered, hopping off his head and waddling off to the room that Sakura and Syaoran shared.

Kurogane growled as he turned into the room he and Fay shared, flicking on the light switch. Fay began setting out his little futon again as Kurogane began to get ready. He looked over, shirt half undone. "What are you doing?"

"Making my bed, Kurorin," Fay explained.

"No," Kurogane said, "You can stay with me again."

"It doesn't make Kuro-puu uncomfortable to share a bed?" Fay asked.

"No." Kurogane said. He was surprised he was able to give that answer so honestly. It really didn't bother him to have the magician sharing his bed. The man was so thin he hardly took up any room at all, anyway.

Fay smiled at him. "Thank you, Kuro-puu."

Kurogane looked away as his cheeks flared crimson. "Don't mention it," he muttered.

Fay smiled wider, "I won't"

When they were settled in, Fay reached over to flick out the light. Kurogane caught his hand.

"Wait," he said.

Fay blinked at him. "Kuro-puu?"

"I want you to listen to me," he said.

"O…okay…" Fay replied, confused.

"I don't hate you," he said, "I think that whatever I might feel towards you, I feel that the least. You're always so carefree and happy, no matter what the situation. Even if your life was in utter peril, you'd still have a smile on your face… its like you have no sense of self-preservation at all. I might find that kind of annoying, but I don't hate you. That's for sure."

Fay smiled warmly, "Kuro-puu…" he said, "I've never thought you hated me. I know I annoy you… but your reactions make it fun! I've never seen someone get so mad over a little nickname!"

Kurogane frowned. "Your nicknames are stupid."

Fay grinned widely. "But they're fun, and you have so many!" he said, and began naming them off. "Kuro-puu, Kuro-pon, Kurorin, Ku-"

Kurogane clapped a hand over his mouth. "Shut up," he said. He felt Fay's lips turn into a smile under his hand.

"Kuro-puu knows how to shut me up…" he said, his voice muffled.

Kurogane's hand dropped. "In your dreams," he said, "That was a one time thing, I–!"

He was interrupted as Fay's smooth lips came in contact with his own. He was about to give the magician a good, hard whack… but stopped. He let the hand he was going to use to hit him rest on his shoulder as his eyes drifted closed. It felt…wonderful.

_0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0_

_YES! OKAY. I COPPED OUT. LET THE HEAD EATING BEGIN._

_Really though, that was such a nice note to leave it on. I didn't want to ruin it with sex. Maybe next time._

_Take care,_

_- your friendly neighborhood fanfic writer (Andrix)_


	6. Black and Red

Mekyo

_Mekyo!_

_Hello, readers! Again, I apologize for delays. I hit a snag after the last chapter, and am just overcoming said snag now. I managed to wrangle up my muses and make them work. Also, I apologize in advance for any word mix-ups, unchecked punctuation errors, etc. I have a problem with my wrist, and it's currently in a brace. Also, as I slowly finish this chapter, I'm being eaten alive by finals…again. But, you guys deserve more puppy and kitty for not bothering me while I've bean dead'd. Or most of you do, anyways. So! On with the show, yes?_

_With love,_

_Andrix_

_PS: I've added a poll to my profile for general feedback and stuff. Go check it out and vote!_

_--_

_Confess to me, every secret moment_

_Every stolen promise you believe_

_Confess to me, all the lies between us_

_All the lies between you and me_

_--_

Kurogane awoke the next morning to find a strange weight on his arm. As he grumbled and tried to move, he was startled to find that whatever it was on his arm moved too, stirring. Drowsy, he looked over. He blinked as a tousled mop of blonde hair poking out over the edge of the cover wiggled slightly. It took his still-sleeping mind a minute to comprehend that this strange weight was Fay.

He gave an annoyed grumble as he tried to push the thin man off his arm. After a few tugs he succeeded, and was almost instantly confronted with the horrid pins-and-needles feeling of the blood rushing back into the sleeping appendage. His dark brows met in a frown as he sat up and waited for the feeling to subside.

As he sat there, he was gradually aware of the increasing amount of movement next to him. He stared as the blonde mop and the body that was attached migrated from its spot on the pillow to – where else – his lap. He gave a little annoyed twitch as the other settled himself. His only desire was to spring up from the bed and toss the magician off of him.

That wasn't necessary, as the magic man apparently noticed the shift in headrests and blinked awake, one crystal blue eye staring up at the increasingly annoyed visage of his ninja companion. And all he did was smile before giving a pleasant, "Good morning, Kuro-wanko"

Kurogane gave a quiet growl, "Get. Off. My lap."

Fay blinked, then grinned, "Oh, but Kuro-pii's lap is so comfortable!"

"Get off!!" the ninja exclaimed.

"No need to yell" Fay said, sitting up and stretching, "There, see? I'm off."

"Good," Kurogane hissed, tossing his legs over the side of the bed and standing up, "Don't do that again."

"Yessir" Fay teased, giving him a mock salute. Kurogane huffed and went into the bathroom to change into some fresh clothes. By the time the two had each gotten dressed, Syaoran knocked on their door and informed them that breakfast was ready. It was a light breakfast of eggs, toast and tea. While they eat, the four travelers talked of possible ways to retrieve the feather from inside the star. So far, it seemed that the only way was to ask about it.

"So you think this Kinomoto guy is going to hand over the star just because we ask for it?" Kurogane grumbled, reaching for the sugar bowl.

"It's possible. Kinomoto-san is a good man," Tomoyo replied.

"Well, if that fails I'm sure there's some other way we can get it back…" Fay supplied as he, too, reached for the bowl of sugar. His and Kurogane's hands met half way. Fay blinked as Kurogane quickly pulled his hand away and looked rather intently at his scrambled eggs. Syaoran and Sakura looked at each other, and Tomoyo giggled.

Kurogane didn't spare her a little glare. "Yeah. Whatever. But the only other ways we've thought up are smash it, steal it, or the manjuu's hair-brained ideas."

"Hair-brained ideas?" Syaoran asked, blinking at Mokona as the puffball scarfed down another piece of toast, "What were your ideas, Mokona?"

"Stupid," Kurogane interjected.

"Wah! Kuro-wanwan is so mean to Mokona!" the puffball whined.

Fay smiled a little as he took a sip of his tea. "Mokona suggested that he could float up to the top of the tree and suck up the star."

Sakura patted the manjuu's head, "We should avoid stealing."

"Hime is right," Syaoran said, "If we can, we should avoid stealing."

"Then Mokona will help think up new plans!" he exclaimed happily.

Sakura smiled, "I'm sure you'll come up with excellent ones, Moko-chan."

Mokona grinned and looked at Tomoyo, "Tomoyo-san, do you have some paper?"

Tomoyo nodded, "There should be some in the desk in the living room, Mokona. Help yourself."

Mokona floated off to grab some paper and a pencil and sat himself on the floor, drawing out new plans. Fay tapped his chin. "This 'Yule' thing… what happens tonight?"

"A banquet," Tomoyo told him, "at the city hall. Everyone in the whole town should be there."

"So, the owner of the glass store should be there then?" Syaoran inquired.

"Well…yes, I suppose Kinomoto-san will be there. Maybe you can talk to him," she said, "If not him, then his assistant Tsukishiro-san."

"Exactly what I was thinking," Syaoran said, "If we can talk to him and explain why we need it, he might be moor cooperative."

"Well, you can't go to a banquet in those clothes!" Tomoyo exclaimed happily, a sparkle in her eyes, "We'll have to go shopping!"

"Oh, that sounds fun!" Sakura quipped.

Syaoran smiled as the princess and Tomoyo went on to talk about the different things one could wear to the Yule banquet. Fay smiled his happy little smile as he watched the girls, and Kurogane grumbled. Shopping was one more thing the ninja just didn't like.

--

"Sakura-chaaaan!" Tomoyo called, "Come and try on this one!!"

Sakura happily bounced over to Tomoyo to examine another outfit the girl had picked out. Syaoran looked through the racks curiously, looking over all the different shirts and coats he came across, admiring the intricate designs on some of them. It didn't take long for Fay to pick out something for both he and Kurogane. The magician thrust a pile of garments into the ninja's hands and insisted he try them on, while he himself was already decked out in a white shirt and a pale blue vest that faded in a smooth gradient to a darker blue at the bottom, with silver fastenings, as well as a pair of straight-legged black pants.

Kurogane gave an indignant huff as he went into the little change cubicle to try on the clothes the magician had picked out for him. Once he had them on, he couldn't help but give a little smile.

"The flouncy twig has good taste, at least," he thought as he looked at his reflection in the cubicle mirror. The outfit the blonde had chosen consisted of a black shirt with sleeves that stopped at the middle of his forearm, a red vest with silver fastenings and accents and a pair of comfortable black pants. There was a noise outside, like someone leaning on the door.

"What does Kuro-puu think?" came the sing-song voice of the magic man.

He tried to keep his best nonchalant tone as he spoke. "They're not unbearable."

"So you liiike them?" he asked.

"I didn't say that," Kurogane hissed.

"Come out and let me see!" the magic man said gleefully as he pushed off the door. Kurogane grumbled and stepped out, crossing his arms as Fay looked him over full-circle. He gave a wide smile.

"Kuro-puu always looks nice in black and red," he said, before slipping into the changing cubicle next to the one Kurogane had used, leaving the ninja just mildly confused.

--

With their shopping done, the friends made their way back to Tomoyo's house, passing the glass shop on the way. Kurogane paused for a moment, looking in the window at the little sculpture of the unicorn that he and Fay had seen the day before.

"Oi," he said gruffly, "didn't you say that one of the days of this Yule thing is a gift exchange?"

Tomoyo blinked and looked back at him. "Yes," she said, smiling, "On the third day we exchange gifts. Why?"

He shifted one of the shopping bags he was carrying and continued walking. "Never mind."

Tomoyo gave a giggle and continued walking while Fay looked at the Ninja, a strange look in his eyes.

Kurogane noticed, glaring at him. "What?" he demanded.

"Who is Kuro-pon thinking of buying a gift for?" he chirped.

"None of your business!" snapped the dark one, looking quite flustered. He picked up his pace, moving to the front of their little group. Sakura ended up next to Fay.

"Fay-san," she asked, "why does Kurogane-san always get so angry with you?"

Fay gave her a grin. "Because he's silly!" he said.

Kurogane turned around and barked at him, "I heard that, idiot!"

At this, everyone began laughing, much to Kurogane's chagrin. He continued to fume as they approached Tomoyo's house, and he fumed still as he made his way to the room he and Fay shared to deposit the new clothes.

"Kuro-muu isn't still mad about what I said, is he?" Fay asked, throwing on a puppy face.

"No," Kurogane said sharply, "I was never mad at you."

"They why are Kuro-pii's words so sharp?" Fay inquired, the puppy face not fading.

Kurogane groaned, turning away. That face had a strange effect on him. An effect he really didn't like.

"Because… wait, why do I need to tell you?!" he demanded, spinning around again.

"Because I asked and Kuro-wan is so kind he decided he'd tell me?" the magician said innocently. Kurogane scowled and looked away.

"You'll find out everything eventually," he said quietly.

--

That evening, Tomoyo happily guided her new friends to a large building in the center of the city. The doors of this building were thrown wide open and people were filtering into it. Delicious smells of cooking food wafted out to greet them and pull in more passing individuals. Everyone was dressed in their finest clothes. Mokona eyed the large buffet table hungrily.

"Hyuuu…" whistled Fay, "Everything looks and smells so good!"

Tomoyo gave a happy nod, "The finest cooks in the city are responsible for the Yule Banquet."

While everyone else seemed happy and excited, their little knight in shining armor was all business.

"Tomoyo-san," Syaoran asked, looking around, "Which one is Kinomoto-san?"

"Oh," Tomoyo said, "The tall man in the corner with dark hair. He's standing next to the pale man with glasses."

"I see him," Syaoran said, nodding. He was mildly surprised to find that this Kinomoto-san and his assistant Tsukishiro-san looked exactly like the king and high priest of his home, Clow Country. He made his way over to the two men.

Sakura timidly followed Tomoyo around as the young woman introduced her to friends. She seemed to be enjoying herself, Mokona held in her arms. Kurogane quietly made his way to a table laden with drinks. When he reached it and picked up a can of a strange, fizzy beverage called 'root beer' (that seemed to have nothing to do with roots or beer), and leaned against the wall in a corner. It wasn't long before Fay found him.

"So this is where Kuro-sama is hiding," he said, smiling.

Kurogane's eyebrow twitched slightly, "I'm not 'hiding'."

"You seem like it," he said, "standing over here and looking grumpy. No one has even come within three feet of you! You should socialize like Sakura-chan."

"There's no point in making too many friends here," Kurogane muttered, "We'll leave as soon as we get the feather."

"Well, yes," Fay agreed, "But that doesn't mean you can't act pleasant! Standing over here in a corner, Kuro-puu looks like an angry bear."

"I'll show you an angry bear," Kuro muttered.

Fay gave him a little pout, "Aw… Kuro-wanko was so nice yesterday, why is he all mean and barking again today? Is he mad at Nyanko-san?"

"I'm not mad at you," he said in a defeated tone, "really."

"Really, really?" Fay asked.

"_Really_, really," Kurogane told him, adding a bit of emphasis to show that he really wasn't mad at the magician. He was about to tell him to go away now, when Sakura walked up.

"Kurogane-san, Fay-san," she said, "Syaoran-kun wants to talk to all of us together."

Fay gave her a wide, cheery smile, "Okay, Sakura-chan. Come on, Kuro-puu!"

Kurogane protested loudly as Fay grabbed his arm and dragged him along behind Sakura, towards where Syaoran sat with Kinomoto-san and his assistant. The three of them all looked up as the princess, the ninja and the magician all walked over. Tsukishiro-san gave Sakura a pleasant smile and stood.

"Here," he said, "you can have my seat."

Sakura gave a big smile, "Thank you!" she chirped.

The other two men clustered around the table.

"Well, Syaoran-kun," Fay twittered, "why did you want to talk to us?"

"Ah, yeah," he jumped back to the subject at hand, "Kinomoto-san is willing to let us see the star… after all the celebrations are finished."

"Hyuuu!" Fay tweeted, "how kind of you, Kinomoto-san!"

"Please," Kinomoto said casually, "my name is Touya, and this is Yukito. I can't guarantee anything, really. The way I crafted it, there's no way to get the feather out. It was already in the crystal when I found it and started carving it."

"It's alright," Sakura piped up, "That has happened before…"

"How did you get it out?" Yukito asked.

"Er…" Sakura stammered, "It…ah… it broke through."

"The feather broke through the crystal?" Touya asked, looking at her incredulously.

"Yes," she replied.

"Hime's feathers are very powerful. They're capable of a lot of things," Syaoran explained.

"Most of that turns out to be bad," Kurogane muttered.

Fay elbowed him lightly. He shot the magician a glare. Touya ran a hand through his hair.

"The star is really important to the people here," he explained, "if it was to break…"

"I understand, Touya-san," Syaoran said gently, "but we need to get Hime's feathers back."

"Let me think about it," Touya said finally, standing, "I'll get back to you."

--

Once again, Fay was curled up on the bed. The blonde had kicked off the heavier blankets, as it was relatively warm in the room, and lay splayed over top of the thin sheets. Kurogane stared at him for a bit before quietly shuffling out of the room and making his way to the library, where Tomoyo sat at the chess table, much as he had been the day before. She looked up from the ebony pieces as he entered.

"Shouldn't you be asleep?" he muttered.

"I could say the same for you, Kurogane-san," she said cheerily, "Is there something on your mind?"

"No," he said quickly, turning to leave. He stopped, and turned back, "Maybe."

"Oh? What could that be?" she asked.

"This gift exchange thing…" he mumbled as he sat across from her.

"What about it?" she inquired.

"I want to get him something," he answered flatly.

"I can help you with that," she said, moving one of the pieces absently, "What do you want to get him?"

Kurogane thought for a moment as he moved a piece to counteract the movement she had just made. He looked up at her.

"A unicorn."

--

_There you have it, folks. Chapter six, done at last. I know it took a really long time, but things have a habit of eating you alive from time to time, you know? Along with side projects, school projects, household things, and looking for a job, my _finals_ cropped up early on me this year. They start June 19__th__, about two weeks away. But then I'm off on summer vacation and should have a lot more time for writing. So here's hoping everything goes well…_

_Oh yeah, and the background track this chapter was _"Pictures of You"_ by The Last Goodnight. _

_- Andrix_


	7. Territory

_Mekyo!_

_Well, folks, it's finally time to update RRGA. We're nearing the end, now. The name of the new world, Wells, comes from H.G. Wells, author of several popular steampunk novels like The Invisible Man and The Time Machine. Enjoy, it's about to get messy..._

_Andrix_

* * *

_Cause our days were numbered by nights on too many rooftops.  
They said we're wasting our lives,  
Oh at least we know, that if we die - we lived with passion.  
They said we'd burn so bright.  
We'd burn this city and go. _

* * *

Kurogane looked down at the small box Tomoyo had given him earlier. He knew what was inside it. It wasn't something for him, but for a certain blonde-haired magic man. Attached to the ribbon on the box was a small card. He sat in the library with a pen, trying to figure out what to write.

'To Fay' was simple and easy. However, it felt inadequate to him. So he scribbled it out. He tried again, 'For Fay…from Kurogane' worked, but that also didn't feel right. So that was scribbled out too. He gave a frustrated sigh. If he kept going like this, the entire card would be full of nothing more than scribbles. He decided that whatever he wrote next, he would keep. He touched his pen to the card. The ballpoint rolled smoothly over the surface. When he was finished, he read over what he had written.

"It looks like one has come to you after all," the little piece of paper read. He then stood, leaving the little, blue, snowflake-printed box sitting on the chess table.

* * *

Tomoyo had dragged everyone out to go shopping again. Fay, however, had volunteered to stay behind and help Souma around the house. When he walked into the library, he was surprised to see the little box. He gently picked it up, inspecting every aspect of it until his eyes fell upon the card. What he read there made him smile.

He hid it behind his back as he went to find Souma.

"Souma-saaaaan," he called.

Souma poked her head out of the kitchen, "Yes? What is it, Fay-san?"

"Um... I don't feel well, suddenly... I'm going to go lay down," he told her.

"Oh! Well, alright, Fay-san. If you need anything, let me know."

Fay smiled and nodded as he wandered off to his room. Once he was within it's walls, he carefully opened the small box and moved the paper out of the way so he could see it's contents. There, nestled safely in the crisp, white tissue paper, was a rearing crystal unicorn. Fay's slender fingers ran over it slowly before he lifted it from it's nest. It was the unicorn he had seen in the shop window. The one he had shown Kurogane. He smiled and placed it back in the box, closing it and setting it down on the night table. He sat down in the chair that was in the room and patiently waited for Kurogane to return with the others.

* * *

When Kurogane got back and had deposited the grocery bags he was carrying in the kitchen, he was informed that Fay had gone to lay down. He blinked and hurried off to find Fay. He first checked the library. He saw that the box was gone, and got a strange feeling in his gut. He couldn't place it. He just knew it was something he hadn't felt before. He didn't like it, but at the same time he wanted to feel it again.

He figured that the next logical thing for him to do was check the room they shared. He opened the door, only to be tackled by the very person he was looking for. He grunted in surprise as Fay's small frame rammed against him. The magician didn't succeed in his goal of knocking over the ninja, however.

"What the hell?" he asked of the magician, who was now hanging from around his neck like some weird collar.

Fay looked up at him, crystal eyes sparkling as a grin spread over his face. True happiness, not the false visage he put on for everyone else.

"Thank you, Kuro-sama," he said.

Kurogane looked away as his cheeks flushed a light pink. "That's why you're hanging off me? It was nothing."

"To Kuro-pon, maybe..." Fay said, not once letting go of him, "But not to me."

Kurogane looked back at him, into those shining crystal blue eyes, "It's just a little hunk of crystal. What makes it so special?"

"It's special..." Fay said, voice hushed, "Because Kurorin gave it to me."

Kurogane blinked, his stomach doing a funny little flip. It was different than the one it had done before, but similar. He tugged himself away from Fay. It took a little more effort than he thought it would, but he succeeded. Fay frowned.

"Are you okay, Kurorin?" he asked.

"I should be asking you that," was the ninja's gruff reply, "I was told that you weren't feeling well."

"Oh..." Fay mumbled, "No, I'm okay. I just wanted to surprise Kuro-wanko with my thank you."

"Idiot," Kurogane hissed.

Fay looked taken back slightly by this response, "Why?" he asked simply.

"Because you had me all worried for nothing," was Kurogane's equally simple reply.

Fay's face lit up again. "Kuro-pon was worried about me?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, if you're sick, then I could get sick," he said, making it up as he went along, "I hate being ill."

Fay grinned and tapped the side of his nose with his finger. "Ohhh. I get it, Kuro-puu."

Kurogane gave him an irked look. "Hey, what's with that?"

"What, Kuro-pon?" Fay chimed.

"This!!" he demanded, touching his finger to the side of his own nose.

"I have no idea what you mean!" Fay said, shrugging ad he held the little box close to his chest. Kurogane growled quietly.

"Stop lying!" he commanded, "It's so annoying when you do that! _Everything _you do is annoying. Almost like that's the only thing you know how to be."

Fay drooped, "I didn't mean to make Kuro-sama angry."

Instantly, Kurogane regretted what he had said. He let his annoyance get away with him, and again said things he knew he didn't really mean. He didn't understand _why _he didn't mean it, at least not entirely. But he knew that he hadn't meant to hurt the magician's feelings as much as he did.

"Sorry," he said quietly, pushing past him gently and sitting down in the chair that was in the room "I'm not angry. Not really. I just don't like it when you do things like that. It _is _annoying."

Fay set the little box down on a nearby table, then knelt at the arm of the chair, crossing his arms on it and resting his chin on them. He looked up at Kurogane and smiled slightly.

"I understand, Kurorin," he said, "It's annoying when you don't tell the truth, too."

He blinked at the thinly veiled rebuke, then smiled faintly. He hadn't been entirely honest. Fay had caught that. He was a magician. His job was to make lies, and that meant he could see through lies that weren't as strong as his own, such as Kurogane's poorly pieced together explanation of his worry. He looked down at the smiling face, framed by that messy, bouncy golden halo of hair, with it's crystal clear blue eyes, and felt a strange twang in his heart. He felt compelled to reach out and place a hand on the other man's cheek, and did just that.

Fay blinked, looking up at him questioningly. He pressed his cheek against Kurogane's hand lightly, eyes slowly drifting closed. Kurogane's hand was comforting, and warm. He sighed. "Kuro-puu..."

Kurogane smiled faintly. He liked the feel of Fay's skin on his own. He was confused when Fay pulled away from him. He looked over. The magician was standing now, looking down at him. Without a word, he slid sideways into Kurogane's lap.

Kurogane looked into Fay's eyes as his weight settled in his lap. The magician gently placed his arms around the ninja's neck, looking back at him. Kurogane in turn placed his own arms around Fay to hold him in place. He was confused, and it showed. Fay smiled, resting his forehead against the other's.

"I want to be close to you... is Kuro-puu uncomfortable?" he asked.

Kurogane shook his head, "No," was his reply.

Fay shifted and adjusted himself so that he was now straddling the ninja, his face quite close to Kurogane's, "How about now?"

"No," he replied again.

Satisfied with Kurogane's responses, Fay closed the gap between them and brought their lips together in a gentle kiss. This caught the dark one off guard slightly, but he recovered quickly and returned the lip lock. Fay made a satisfied noise and pulled himself closer to Kurogane, their torsos flush against one another.

Fay eventually pulled his supple lips away from Kurogane, slowly catching his breath. Kurogane seemed disappointed, and Fay noticed. He grinned.

"Kuro-pon likes kisses?" he said teasingly.

"Just shut up and do it again."

Encounters such as this were common in the following days. And yet, it seemed to others that nothing had changed. And really, it hadn't. Kurogane still found Fay obnoxious and childish. And Fay still loved making fun of him. As the days passed, the group was slowly getting more and more anxious to retrieve the feather and get on with their journey. Finally, the day came when they could do so. Kinomoto-san invited them to his shop, and they were happy to oblige.

Reluctantly, the craftsman handed over the large, crystal star. The flawless piece of translucent artistry, with it's precious treasure enclosed, was given to the princess as though it was a child, a baby that Touya was trusting her with. As she had done with the last feather that had been encased in a cocoon of crystal, she held it to her chest, silently begging it not to break. Pleading with it to give back her feather, but not destroy the beautiful gem.

And it did. The feather silently floated through the walls of it's prison, and into the princess' heart where it belonged. As she slipped into unconsciousness, Yukito caught the star.

"Oh, good... it's in one piece," he said with a happy smile.

Kurogane lifted up the princess, and Syaoran gave his thanks. Once she woke up, they could continue on their journey. They didn't have long to wait. Once again, they said goodbye to their friends and slipped into the void between worlds, drifting along in silence.

The world they landed in next was cold and rainy. Far off in the distance, a tall clock chimed loudly through the din.

"Do you sense anything, Mokona?" Fay asked as the puffball landed on his shoulder.

"...No..." Mokona mumbled, "But... it might be hiding."

The travellers looked around, taking in the world around them. The rain fell heavily from grey clouds, adding a sense of dreariness. They stood in the middle of a large square, in the center of which was a fountain, playing despite the rain. The entire city smelled of damp earth and wet concrete. A spindly, bronze sign shone below a street light.

"'Wells'," Syaoran said, "That's what it says."

They looked off into the city once more as the rain continued to fall around them. As they progressed through the streets, they became aware that it was very late at night. There was no one out and about at all. The only noise was the sound of the rain and the occasional cat or dog meandering through the back alleyways. There was no sign of any life, until – soaking wet and quite tired – they found the town center. The dreary city came to life almost instantly. Instead of being surrounded by dark buildings, they found brightly lit inns and pubs and restaurants. The store windows were filled of little gadgets that spun about and displayed the products. Dress mannequins twirled like little dancers as a small steam engine travelled through a tunnel in the next window over. The weary travellers smiled as they were presented with this slightly more comforting image.

They wandered up to an inn and walked inside, happy to be out of the rain. The in keeper grinned at them from behind the counter. It was Sorata. Arashi was meandering about the inn, waiting tables and making small talk with the guests.

"Hey, you four look pretty sad. Why were you out walking around at this time of night, especially in this rain?" Sorata asked them.

Syaoran handled the introductions, as he usually did. "We've just arrived in town," he told Sorata, "and we were unaware that it rained so much..."

"My wife will show you guys to some rooms," Sorata told him, "And we'll get you a change of clothes too."

"Thank you," Fay said, smiling happily. He was drenched. Even his thick fur coat was soaked through.

Arashi showed them to their rooms. As usual, Kurogane and Fay ended up together in the same room. This one, however, had two beds. She set a pile of clothes down on one of the beds.

"These should fit the two of you." she said, "You can just toss your other clothes into the laundry. We'll get them dried and washed and back to you when they're done."

"Thanks," Kurogane said in his usual gruff tone. Arashi nodded as she left the room.

Fay began to peel off his coats, one by one. The heavy fur one first, then the lighter fur coat he wore underneath. Soon he was down to just his black tights, white tunic, and gloves. Kurogane was watching him, smiling faintly as he did. Fay blinked over at him.

"Kuro-pii is staring at me..." he said, grinning.

"Yes," Kurogane admitted, "I am staring at you."

"Kurorin should get out of his wet clothes. He'll catch a cold if he doesn't." Fay insisted, turning his back to the ninja as he began to undo the fastenings on his tunic.

Kurogane took off his mask and his mantle, letting them fall to the floor and land in a pile with Fay's clothes. He approached the magician slowly, slipping an arm about his waist and drawing him close. He leaned down and pressed his lips to Fay's neck. They were both soaking wet, but it didn't matter as their bodies pressed against one another.

"Kurorin... what are you up to?" he asked, his head falling back against the ninja's shoulder.

"Marking my territory."

Fay awoke the next morning in the arms of his ninja. Kurogane was snoozing peacefully beside him, his hair still somewhat flat from the night before. Carefully, he pulled himself away from the dark one, sitting on the edge of the bed. He stood and slowly got dressed before making his way down to the inn. It was still quiet, but voices could be heard.

"Fay!" Mokona chirped, bouncing over and sitting on Fay's shoulder.

Fay smiled. "Good morning, Mokona."

Mokona was not the only person awake, though. Sakura was sitting at a table with Syaoran, drinking tea. She smiled at him warmly. "Hello, Fay-san."

"Ah, Sakura-chan. Good morning. Syaoran-kun, too." he said happily.

"Good morning, Fay-san," Syaoran replied, "Where is Kurogane-san?"

Fay's eyes twinkled as he gestured towards the stairs. "Lazy Kuro-myu is still asleep."

"Lazy Kuro-puu!" Mokona chanted, "Lazy lazy lazy~!"

"Who's lazy?" came a gruff voice from behind Fay.

"Waaai!" Mokona cried, startled by Kurogane's sudden appearance.

Fay laughed, taking the puffball in his hands. "Why, Kuro-sama is lazy, of course. He's the last one out of bed."

Kurogane scowled, but his eyes seemed almost amused. He said nothing and walked around Fay, grabbing a slice of toast from the table where Sakura and Syaoran sat.

"We should go out and ask around. See if anyone knows anything." he said, munching on the toast. "I don't want to stay in the soggy place any longer than we have to."

The four adventurers and their puffball travelled out of the inn to find the dead city they had arrived in the night before full of life. Cars powered by steam engines clattered along the streets. The store windows were even more full of life than they had been. The big clock in the distance bonged loudly as people milled about. Syaoran was fascinated by the technology. It seemed like such an old world, but the technology within it rivalled even Piffle.

Some shop windows displayed armaments that none of the travellers had ever seen before. One particular weapon was set on a pedestal. It was made of metal, with several strange cartridges on it. It appeared to be a gun, but it was unlike any gun they had seen before.

"What does the sign say, Syaoran-kun?" Fay asked curiously.

"'Raygun'," Syaoran said, furrowing his brow, "It has a description of what it does..."

"Raygun?" Kurogane asked, "Odd."

"Yes," Syaoran said.

A pleasant sound reached his ears; the sound of Sakura's laughter. She and Fay had found a little organ grinder. Atop the organ a mechanical monkey danced and did tricks as the grinder played. At the end of it's performance, the life-like little monkey tipped it's hat and bowed.

"How cute," Sakura remarked "How does it work?"

The grinder smiled. "He has a furnace on his back. The furnace burns little bits of coal, and the energy turns the gears and makes it dance."

"There are lots of interesting things in this world," Fay said, patting her shoulder.

Syaoran smiled. "Hey, Mokona."

The puffball popped up from inside Kurogane's shirt. "Puu!"

"Stop hiding in my clothes, stupid Manjuu!" Kurogane growled.

Syaoran smiled. "Can you sense a feather, Mokona?"

Mokona hopped onto Syaoran's head, concentrating hard. He began to glow before he stopped. "Yep! It's faint, but there's definitely a feather in this world!"

Deep in the shadows, a figure smirked. So there was a feather in this place. If he was careful, they would lead him right to it. All he had to do was keep out of sight... he quickly dashed away as the ninja looked towards his location.

"What is it, Kuro-wanko?" Fay asked playfully. Kurogane didn't even seem to notice the nickname.

"I felt like someone was watching us," he said, "But it's gone now."

_There you go, readers, the next instalment. Who is the mysterious person in the shadows? Which one of our adventurer's many enemies has come to pay them a visit? Guess we'll find out next chapter..._

_The background track is _Burn This City _by_ Cartel.

_Till next time,_

_Andrix_

_P.S. I realize that Fay wouldn't really be able to read what Kurogane wrote, because he doesn't know Japanese. We'll ignore that for now. _


End file.
